What You Need to Know If Your Child Suffers an Injury

June 25, 2018
By
Sheffy, Mazzaccaro, DePaulo & DeNigris, LLP

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Injuries are usually a normal part of growing up, as active children play
and take tumbles and falls. However, some injuries are not so innocent.
If your child suffers an injury due to the negligence of another, you
may need to take action to receive compensation.

Childhood personal injuries are a specialized area of personal injury practice
dealing specifically with injuries that children suffer. These range from
bicycle accidents and dog bites to other types of injuries that may be
the result of negligence. If you suspect someone else's negligence
played a role in your child's injury, here is some information you
need to know:

Determining negligence

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, says that injuries
are the leading cause of
death in children ages 19 and under and that most of these injuries are preventable. Some injuries are the
result of negligence. For example, an injury from a car accident may be
due to another driver's inattention behind the wheel. Negligence can
also be a factor in a wide variety of childhood injuries such as swimming
pool accidents, bicycle accidents and dog bites. A personal injury attorney
can help you determine whether negligence played a role in your child's injury.

Child personal injury cases

Since a child cannot bring a personal injury suit in his or her own name,
this falls to the parents. In Connecticut, child personal injury cases
are different than personal injuries cases for adult injuries. That is
because they often involve both
personal injury and probate court proceedings. Children cannot receive settlements awarded to them in a
personal injury case until they are of legal adult age. That means parents
have to open a restricted account to hold the money until the child turns 18.

The complexities of child injuries require a qualified attorney who handles
these types of cases. Do not wait to contact an attorney, because if negligence
was a factor in your child's injury, you should seek the compensation
your child deserves within the statute of limitations.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only.
Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual
case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt
or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.